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𝑴𝑬𝑹𝑮𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑬𝑪𝑯𝑶𝑬𝑺 𝑶𝑭
𝑷𝑨𝑺𝑻 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑷𝑹𝑬𝑺𝑬𝑵𝑻
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𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐀 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄, 𝐂𝐀𝐈𝐑 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐋 looked the same as always at first glance. The citadel overlooked the forest and beach like a silent watcher from its spot on the cliffside of the peninsula, but a heavy tension seemed to linger in the air. The darkness of the night hugged the light-coloured stones of the castle tighter than usual and the waves of the ocean didn't dare to crash on the shore with too much of a noise. Nothing wanted to disturb the creatures that now lived inside the citadel of the four thrones, but another form of an awakening lurked around the corner.
Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, Alexander and Rosaleen ran through the shadows of the towering cliff at their left and the sand grains beyond the shadows had an off-white colour in the pale moonlight. The small group sprinted towards the secret and natural-looking chiselled staircase against the precipice and their chests heaved up and down as the loose sand made running ten times harder.
They paused a few moments at the foot of the staircase to catch their breath and then Peter unsheathed his sword as quietly as he could before nodding at the others to do the same already as well. Since the Rosaleen Reflection had entered Cair Paravel this way too, the chance of the entrance being unguarded was almost nil and the sound of unsheathing weapons at the head of the staircase would alert the creatures if they stood guard.
Peter was the first to ascend the stairs, quickly followed by the rest and they often had to seek support by the rough stones of the cliff with one of their hands to keep their balance as the steps lay apart with a big and high distance; descending the stairs was much easier than climbing it.
Once they reached the top of the staircase, Peter let his left hand slide over the smooth stones of the courtyard's eastern wall until he found the small creek that was just wide enough for him to put his hand in. His fingers touched upon the small lever and with an inaudible click, he pulled it down, but the sound of shifting stones followed immediately after it. The heavy, stone door opened and it swung outwards, towards the courtyard as the illusion of the perfectly merged wall and secret door fell apart.
With their weapons at the ready and one by one, the group shot through the opening like a trickling river. They expected to be met with the opposition any second but as they huddled together with their backs turned to each other, observing the courtyard from standing in a perfect circle, they realised the courtyard was empty.
Rosaleen's eyes shot upwards towards the outer castle wall with its watchtower that the Kings and Queens of Narnia would never let unpatrolled, but even those were empty.
'Where are they?' Rosaleen asked in a whisper and Alexander shrugged.
'I have a bad feeling about this,' Lucy added just as quietly.
Peter's gaze wandered over the courtyard one last time, paying special attention to the shadows beyond the archways that surrounded the courtyard but it was eerily silent.
'We go forth with the plan,' Peter said, his voice a bit louder than those of the girls as he gave the order.
While still keeping a keen eye on their surroundings, Edmund closed the secret door again and then the six of them sprinted over the courtyard, through a part of the castle, and down over the inconsistent levels of the cliff towards the stone bridge that led all the way over the gaping chasm. During the night, the sharp rocks at the bottom of it weren't visible but they were all too aware of the deadly fall as the bridge only had a low railing that reached till their knees.
Their hasted footsteps echoed through the darkness but the hollow sounds cut off as soon as they reached the closed, iron-wrought gate. Apart from only a key, it was also locked with a pair of metal bars resting horizontally in their stands at this side of the gate; making it unable to open as the vast metal blocked every possible movement.
With the three of them though, Peter, Edmund and Alexander managed to lift the metal bars out of their stands and they dropped it to the ground. Rosaleen and Lucy shot inside the guardroom next to the gate to retrieve the keys and even there, they weren't met with any resistance; only with the silence of an unoccupied room.
'This is going too easy,' Lucy said as her eyes nervously shot through the area while Rosaleen grabbed the keys that dangled near the window. In the far distance, beyond the dark glass, they could see the apple trees of the orchard and the black poplar trees of the forest in which the rest of their army hid.
'What if the Reflections knew we'd be coming and it's all a trap?' Lucy continued as they walked back onto the stone bridge.
'I agree with you, Lucy,' Rosaleen said, handing the keys over to Peter who opened the last lock of the gate. 'But we have to take back Cair Paravel, we cannot give up without even trying.'
The gate opened with an awfully high screech and Alexander released the messenger falcon that would fly towards King Lune, Seren and the rest of their troops, signalling that the gate was open. However, before the falcon could soar higher up into the air, the bird was shot out of the night sky with a silver beam of light that originated from behind the company.
They all whirled around on their heels as the falcon crashed down with a dying caw into the dark abyss. A shiver rolled down their spines as the Reflections stepped out of the shadows at the end of the bridge and in the window of one the watchtowers, Estrella appeared, overlooking everything from a safe distance.
The Reflections' skin had morphed perfectly together with the darkness until their muscles rolled under their dark scales and the silver colour flowed back into them. Their eyes glowed like the stars above as their mouths simultaneously dropped open in a menacing manner and their loud cries shot through the nightly air.
The bridge shook under the intensity of the cries and the humans at the other side of the bridge had to clasp their hands over their ears. Their eardrums threatened to rip apart as the pressure of the screeches on them built up and up, but Rosaleen sank to her knees with a gasp as well when the scars on her back scorched white-hot and Peter's hand shot towards his chest where he could feel the echo of the whip's burn.
Susan saw her friend collapsing from out of the corner of her eyes and she reacted just in time when at the end of the bridge, one of the Reflection's fingertips lit up like shining stars. A silver beam shot out of them and Susan pulled Rosaleen out of its course.
The beam crackled like lightning as it rocketed past them, right between the bars of the gate behind them until it collided with an apple tree. The tree erupted with an explosive roar of blue flames that turned orange as soon as they had engulfed all of the trunk, branches and leaves, and the stone bridge stopped shaking as the creatures cut off their torturing screeches.
'I haven't seen them doing that before,' Peter said with a shaky voice as he rubbed over the still painful spot on his chest and referring to the flying silver beams.
'Reliving my injuries wasn't pleasant either,' Rosaleen added, sounding choked up and out of breath as Susan pulled her back to her feet, but the blonde stood unsteadily on her legs.
Edmund's eyes shot between the Reflections and the night sky, something dawning upon him. 'We have never encountered them during the night.'
Susan took in a sharp breath, her gaze focussing upon the moon partly hidden behind the dark clouds. 'They're at their strongest now. We have to get out of here.'
'We'll fight this battle another day,' Alexander agreed, grabbing Rosaleen's elbow to steady her stance.
'Peter.' Lucy called her brother's name in a pleading tone as he stared at the Reflections at the end of the bridge without moving, but even with their facial features shrouded in the darkness, he could feel them smirking at the six of them.
'Why are they only standing there?' Peter wondered.
'Who cares,' Edmund said before gesturing at the open gate. 'We have to get out of here, let's go.'
When they all turned to flee though, a handful of creatures stepped out of the shadows near the watchtower and with the sound of crackling glass, their scales stopped mirroring the darkness and the silver colour trickled back into them. They moved unnaturally fast and they blocked the gate before the others could even take another step.
One of the Reflections shot forward towards Peter, hitting him with brute force in his stomach and he doubled over in pain as the creature pried the keys out of his hand. The Reflection tossed it over its shoulder to another one who shut the gate with a loud, definite click and they all cackled evilly.
'You're not going anywhere,' the Reflection said in a low tone as it still stood in front of Peter, but Lucy ran past it towards the other one when it prepared to throw the keys into the gaping abyss at their side.
'No,' Lucy yelled as she reached desperately for the keys but the Reflection huffed and shoved her forcefully out of the way. Lucy stumbled over her own feet by the rough push and she screamed when she could feel the claw-like hands of another Reflection wrapping around her own arms and holding her in place with an iron grip.
'Let go of her,' Peter ordered between clenched teeth. Several metal rings rang through the air as the Kings and Guardians of Narnia unsheathed their swords again and Susan nocked an arrow on the bowstring in one fluent movement, aiming it at the one who held Lucy.
The Reflection who held the keys shook its head in a feigned disappointment as it threw the keys into the abyss. 'You might want to rephrase those words,' it said and Lucy let out a wordless scream when her captor pulled her towards the edge of the bridge. An evil glimmer shimmered in its eyes but there was nothing that Lucy or the others could do when it pushed her over the edge.
Lucy dangled over the seemingly bottomless abyss, silent tears trickling over her cheeks as she desperately tried to get a hold on the one arm of the Reflection that refrained her from falling. The silver scales however, were razor-sharp as they cut in the palm of her hands and she couldn't get a good grip on the arm as she slowly slid farther and farther away.
'Lucy!' Susan and Edmund screamed simultaneously, both jumping forward to get to her but then two Reflections blocked their path. Edmund swung his sword angrily towards the creature but it didn't even try to dodge the attack and the iron blade glided harmlessly against its scales.
Susan tried to fire away her arrow but her opponent grabbed the curved wood and pulled it away from her hands in a flash; the string snapped by the sudden force, tearing a bloodied gash through the palm of Susan's hand and the bow and arrow clattered upon the stones of the bridge.
Alexander and Rosaleen prepared to fight their way over towards Lucy as well and they took a few deep breaths as they rolled with their shoulders, but Peter's actions froze them midway. Peter held up his hands and his sword Rhindon pointed towards the bridge as he rested the hilt upside down against his hand.
'Please, don't hurt her,' he said, pleading with the Silver Reflection that jauntily lift another finger away from Lucy's arm. 'Pull her back onto the bridge, I'll do whatever you want.'
'Oh but Peter, we want to see you break,' the Reflection said between a cackle and then it let go of Lucy.
Lucy fell into the darkness in a whirlwind of flowing clothes and her scream pierced through the night sky as it merged together with the cries of her family and friends until everything was silent.
Nothing moved, no one breathed, the world paused.
'We'll make sure you'll witness every death of your loved ones before we'll lock you up for eternity,' the Reflection snarled at Peter, and heavy vibrations shot through the stones of the bridge when the creatures at the other side started to run towards them. Their scales rolled in a prism of pale colours in the moonlight as they moved and their silver eyes glinted like omens of death.
Rosaleen stared with wide eyes at the spot where Lucy had fallen as hot tears streamed over her cheeks but even with the nearing army, everyone only managed to slowly shake their shock off. Grief clawed at their hearts and it clouded their minds. Lucy couldn't be gone.
Susan took a shaky breath before holding up her hand in front of Alexander who stood next to her and he understood what she meant with her gesture. He handed over one of his twin swords and she spun the sword a few times to get used to the weight before charging at the Reflection who had murdered her sister.
Susan hit it relentlessly against its limbs and torso, trying to force the creature to reveal its weak spot under its jaw and with each ring of metal clattering against scales, Susan chanted Lucy's name silently in her mind.
Edmund followed her example with a fierce yell and he charged at the Reflections near the gate, but the others spun around to face the rest of the creatures that sprinted towards them over the bridge.
Peter, Alexander and Rosaleen raised their swords, preparing their muscles for the collision with the Reflections and in a storm of reigning chaos, the battle broke loose.
No one had time to think as they dodged and attacked, but their chainmail and armour didn't form as good a protection as the silver scales of the creatures. The Reflections fought without holding back and even without a concern of getting hurt while the humans felt every cut, bump and bruise.
'Do you want to know how we knew you were coming?' a Reflection in front of Alexander asked and it simply took a small step aside when Alexander stabbed his sword upwards as an answer. The blade hit the creature's shoulder instead and Alexander had to leap out of the way when the Reflection's claws lit up. The beam soared past him but Susan screamed when it nicked her side and although it immediately scorched close, she wobbled on her feet until she could lean on Edmund's who had sprinted towards her.
The Reflection tutted at Alexander as he cast an anxious glance at Susan over his shoulder.
'That's your fault, it was meant for you,' it said, drawing Alexander's attention once more. 'But as I was saying, we knew you were coming thanks to your sister. We still have a connection to her mind. Do you want to know what else we can do with that connection?' the Reflection continued, swatting Alexander's attack away as if the blade was an annoying fly.
The Reflection closed its eyes, the tiny scales on its face moving like trickling water in concentration and a few yards away from Alexander, Rosaleen let out a pained gasp. Her swords fell out of her hands as she pressed the palm of her hands against her temples. It felt as if dozens of daggers penetrated her mind and pierced through her skull. She fell to her knees, screaming as her vision blurred together from the pain and darkness teetered at the edge of her consciousness.
'Make it stop. Please, make it stop,' Rosaleen repeated between sobs over and over again, her whole body trembling as her muscles tensed up uncontrollably.
Alexander tried taking another swing at the Reflection to break its concentration but he got pushed to the side when another one doomed up from behind him. He landed with a heavy thud on the bridge, his sword rocketing out of his hand by the impact and he struggled for air as he rolled on his back to face the Reflection that had attacked him.
'Any last words?' the creature asked but as its claws seemed to grow longer and sharper, something else changed as well; the scales no longer only reflected the cold hues of the moonlight, but they started to shimmer in warmer tones as the sun slowly rose up into the sky. The rising light of the sun spread over the lands and with it, a new hope arrived too.
'It's a new day,' Alexander breathed out and the whole army paused for a moment because just as he had said that, the Narnian and Archenlandic troops appeared on the cliff. Three centaurs charged towards the locked gate, their shouts filled with adrenaline and they crashed upon the gate unabating, over and over again.
The lock broke under the brute force and the reinforcements streamed through the gate, onto the bridge and then there, in the growing light from the break of dawn, Lucy appeared as well. She sat atop of a gryphon that soared high in the air above the army and her auburn hair blazed like fire in the sunrise as she shouted words of encouragement at the soldiers who managed to slay the creatures faster than the others had managed with just the five of them.
Peter had fought his way over to Rosaleen and he helped her back on her feet, wrapping her in a tight hug as the aftershock of the mental pain still caused her to shudder. Alexander, Susan and Edmund walked over towards them as well and everyone turned their eyes skyward when Lucy and the gryphon spiralled down towards the bridge. The gryphon landed gracefully and Lucy slid off his back before throwing herself in Edmund's arms, but soon she was engulfed into a group hug.
'You're alive,' Edmund said with a choked up chuckle from relief and Lucy nodded as she let go of her siblings and friends.
'How?' Susan asked, wiping away her happy tears.
'We figured the silver beam and the tree bursting out in blue flames wasn't a good sign,' King Lune said as he appeared at their sides after forcefully kicking away the legs from underneath a Reflection that tried sneaking up towards them. The King of Archenland stabbed the creature through its jaw and with a last shudder, it stopped moving.
'Adrastos was flying through the abyss to get closer to the castle to scout the area and he caught me just in time,' Lucy explained, giving the gryphon named Adrastos a grateful smile, but just as she did so, her gaze also caught the sun slowly rising above the walls and towers of Cair Paravel.
The fiery orange, yellow and red falling onto the light-coloured stones of the castle reminded her of a sunrise many, many years ago: when the Deep Magic had reversed an unjust death at the Stone Table. For the first time in years, Lucy wished with all of her heart that Aslan was here to help them.
'I do not see how we can win this though,' King Lune said. 'For every Reflection we slay, we lose a dozen of our own men.'
Peter and Edmund crossed eyes, both thinking of what the best option would be. Should they see it through till whatever end, or retreat with their lives and give up on their kingdom?
A seagull flew overhead, its caw echoing through the sky and the chaos of the battle stilled when the air next to Lucy shimmered as if in a mirage and caught everyone's attention. The flickering seemed to absorb the colours of the sunrise until it took the vast form of a lion.
Aslan's golden fur shone brighter than the sun itself as he radiated with a majestic presence and then his roar thundered through the air as he bared his teeth.
Every Silver Reflection stopped moving as the roar washed over them, it was as if some sort of ice formed itself over their scales; the invisible frost refrained the creatures from moving and all they could do was breathing superficially while the remainder of the Narnian and Archelandic army regrouped around their Kings and Queens and the lion.
Lucy hugged Aslan next to her tightly, burying her face in his manes after she had recovered from the initial shock of the loud roar and his sudden appearance. 'You answered my plea,' she mumbled in his manes and she could feel the deep rumble of his short chuckle before she let go of him again.
'I did,' Aslan said as his amber coloured eyes observed the other three Pevensies and the Summers siblings who all simultaneously bowed towards him and spoke his name in a reverent manner.
King Lune however, dropped on his knees in front of the Great Lion. 'Hail, Aslan,' he said, the awe sounding through his voice as he carefully spared a glance at the lion.
'Your loyalty to me and Narnia will not be forgotten, King Lune. Arise,' Aslan said as he gave Archenland's King an incline of his head.
Peter looked between Aslan and the seemingly frozen Reflections while Lune climbed out of his kneeling position. 'You can control them?' Peter asked curiously, but Aslan shook his manes.
'Only for a short amount of time.'
'Where did they come from?' Edmund asked. 'They're not Narnians, right?'
'The come from the world behind the mirrors. They're the creatures you see in your own pupils when you stare too long and too intently at your own reflection. However, I do not know how they got out of their mirror-world, they shouldn't be able to do so,' Aslan explained, but everyone focussed on the front line of the frozen Silver Reflections when with the sound of crackling glass, one of the creatures managed to stiffly walk towards the lion.
The Reflection was taller than the others, the scales on the top of its head protruding higher in the air like a crown and two purple rings framed its silver irisses.
'Aslan,' the Reflection sneered, its chest heaving up and down as it fought the lion's enchantment. 'The lion with almost as many faces as we have,' it continued in a mockery, and it slowly tried to stretch its claws when behind the creature, the other Reflections started to make small movements as well. Aslan's hold on them was breaking.
'Rorrim,' Aslan said in a low and warning tone, 'leave Narnia and take your Reflections back to your own world. I will not ask again.'
'No,' the Reflection named Rorrim said with an upward curl of its lips. 'You have doomed us to that world; seeing everything but unable to touch anything. We'll destroy your favourite world now that we're finally out of it.'
The humans and Narnians readied their weapons again as the Reflections managed to move closer towards them, but Aslan let out a deep sigh.
'Then you have sealed your fate,' the lion said and his eyes lit up like two bright suns. The light spread from the eyes to Aslan's head, colouring his manes to threads of liquid gold, until the whole lion shone in such an intensity that everyone had to squint their eyes.
The Silver Reflections shielded their eyes, throwing their claw-like hands over their own faces, but Rorrim cackled when Aslan's shining appearance diminished and nothing had happened to them at all.
'You've lost your touch, Many-Faced Lion.'
Aslan hummed, shooting Rorrim a meaningful look. 'I urge you to cast another glance at your scales.'
The Reflection brought up its hands, observing the tiny scales on it with a rising heartbeat because the silver scales used to be lined with all the colours of the rainbow, but now it only showcased gold around the silver center parts. 'What is this?'
'Being a reflection comes with a price, you're life-force-bound sisters and brothers. If one of you dies, so will the others,' Aslan said with a growl and even without the roar from before, the Reflections froze in their movements as the meaning of the rhyme washed over them.
Shouts of victory rose up from the Narnians and Archenlanders, and after a nod from Aslan, Peter walked over towards Rorrim. He pressed the sharp tip of his sword against the Reflection's throat, ready to shove it upwards through its jaw if it appeared to be needed. 'Leave Narnia now, return to your own world, or perish in the knowledge your race will be extinct,' Peter said, the threat deepening his voice and the Reflection slowly raised his hands.
'We surrender,' Rorrim said, defeated, and Peter removed his sword but he startled when the Reflection grabbed the blade between its hands, bringing the flat side up towards its eyes so that the creature could stare at its own reflection.
'What are you doing? Let go,' Peter said as his siblings, and Alexander and Rosaleen stepped closer towards them, but Rorrim shook its head, its silver hair flowing around its shoulders. Its eyes were still not leaving the blade as it held the sword in place with an iron grip.
'The old Tisroc freed us from the mirror-world by staring without blinking at his own reflection, a little too long and too knowledgeable, but this is how we get back.'
Several seconds passed as the Reflection stared into its own eyes and then, with a gust of wind, every Silver Reflection had disappeared as if they had never existed. The crashing of the waves onto the shore started to sound more lively again and the shadows seemed to seep out of the stones of the castle. The threat of the Silver Reflections was no more and the Narnians and Archenlanders erupted in exuberant cheers.
'Well done, sons of Adam and daughters of Eve,' Aslan said to the Pevensies and Summers with a proud smile. 'But there's one last person who needs your verdict.' The lion nodded with his majestic head at the watchtower in the distance and the silhouette of Estrella fled away from the arched window, out of sight.
The Kings, Queens and Guardians of Narnia all crossed eyes. They had momentarily forgotten about Estrella and Aslan was right, they still had to deal with her. They set course towards the castle and Lucy cast a glance over her shoulder, back at Aslan but between a blink of her eyes, he had disappeared again as well.
The Pevensies and Summers had no trouble finding Estrella as she still stood in the room of the watchtower and she dropped to her knees as soon as they entered.
'Please forgive me,' she said with teary eyes, staring at her folded hands in her lap and the edges of her laced sleeves started to fray as she had continuously tugged at them in a habit during the battle on the bridge. 'I only did what my father ordered me to do. I had no choice.'
'There's always a choice,' Rosaleen said. 'You could have chosen to do what is right, but instead you send me and Lucy off to the meadow to be taken prisoner. Every evil that has befallen us and Narnia after that, was set into motion because of you.'
Estrella squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, the tears streaming over her heated cheeks. 'I truly am sorry.'
'I cannot forgive you,' Rosaleen said after a small silence and Lucy shook her head at Estrella.
'Me neither.'
'Go back to Telmar, you're banished from these lands. Never show your face here again,' Rosaleen decided and Estrella suppressed a sob, her black hair falling over her eyes by the jagged movements.
'Peter,' Estrella began between heavy sobs, 'you know I didn't have a choice. Don't let her do this to me.'
Peter stepped closer towards Rosaleen, looking down at Estrella. 'It's not just Rose doing this to you, we all stand by her verdict. Be grateful she's only banishing you, others wouldn't have been so chivalrous.'
'But I love you,' Estrella tried in a last effort and she shook the black strands of hair out of her face. 'Give me another chance.'
'But I never loved you,' Peter said, not even missing a heartbeat. 'My heart belonged only to one person ever.' He sent Rosaleen a sideways smile and despite everything that had mentally and physically scarred her, Rosaleen felt the butterflies bouncing around in her stomach. A blush appeared on her cheeks but she looked at her boots to avoid his gaze.
Edmund and Alexander hauled Estrella up by her shoulders as she let out ugly cries and they dragged her out of the room to escort her out of Cair Paravel. Lucy and Susan followed but when Rosaleen tried to walk after them too, Peter gently took her wrist.
'Wait, Rose,' he said, softly pulling her closer towards himself until they faced each other with only a few inches distance. 'I know I made some horrible mistakes and I can understand it if you can never forgive me either, but if you'd have me, I'm all yours.' Peter's sky blue eyes never left her ocean coloured ones as he said those words and Rosaleen saw no lies in his eyes, only an awful regret and deep sincerity.
'You'd still have a lot to make up for, but yes, I'd have you,' she said before grabbing a handful of the crimson red tunic that covered his chainmail and pulling him even closer. Their lips touched and the spark of love roared up in their chests. Peter wrapped his arms around her waist as she sneaked hers around his neck, passionately making up for all the months they had lost. . .
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